Money-box for stages



'Nrrnn STATES PATENT orrron.

T. W. GIBBONS, OF FRANKLIN, NEIV JERSEY.

MONEY-BOX FOR STAGES, &o.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 24,295', dated J une 7, 1859'.

T o all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, T. WV. GIBoNs, of Franklin, in the county of Hunterdon and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Money-Box or Till for Omnibuses, Stages, and Similar Public Conveyances; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is a vertical section of my invention taken in the line a3, w, Fig.l 2. Fig.

2, a vertical section of the same taken in the line y, y, Fig. 1. Fig. 3, a verticalsection of the same taken in the line e, a, Fig. l. Fig. 4, a vertical section of the same taken in the line e', e', Fig. l. Fig. 5, a detached plan or top view of a change slide or plate.

Similar letters of reference indicate cor? responding parts in the several figures.

This invention is designed to protect the interests of proprietors of omnibuses, stages and other publie conveyances in which the fares are paid to the drivers, the invention preventing the pilfering of the latter by obviating the necessity of paying the fares to them.

The invention consists in having a drawer or till placed within a box and arranged with a lever, change slides or plates, supplemental drawers, an alarm or signal and an index and dial, as hereinafter fully shown and described, whereby passengers may deposit their fares in a drawer and take the necessary change therefrom in View of they driver without the latter having any control over the money, which is safely secured and locked within the box and taken therefrom by the proprietor or his agent at the end of the route.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and` construct my invention I will proceed to describe it.

A, represents a rectangular box of any suitable dimensions which is secured `within an omnibus or stage just below and back of the drivers seat so that the driver may by looking through a glass have a'full view of the box. This box A contains a drawer B, to each end of which a spiral spring a, is attached said springs having a tendency to keep the drawer B, closed or within the box A.

Within the box A, a shaft Zn, passes horizontally, said shaft having two toothed sectors c, c, placed thereon, which sectors gear i Yso passes through a side of box A, and a lever C, is attached thereto, said lever passing lthrough the top or side of the omnibus or stage and by the seat of the driver so as to be within the reach of the latter. The drawer B, is fitted and allowed to slide between vertical partition plates e, c, in the box A. To the shaft b, an arm f, is attached, said arm being at the outer side of the compartment formed by the partition plates e, e. To the adjoining partition plate e, a coiled steel wire g, is attached to form a bell, the end of said coil being curved outward as shown at g, to intersect the plane of the movement of the arm f, as shown clearly in Fig. l. Y

Below the drawer B, in the box A, and between the same partition plates e, e, a drawer D, is placed. This drawer is provided with a lock and key and its contents are not accessible to either the driver or the passengers. The bottom of the drawer B, is provided with a flap or trap door 72,', which, when the drawer B, is open, is kept closed by the front rail t', on which the drawer B, slides, the flap or door L, being allowed to drop when the drawer B, is closed, as shown in red Fig. 2.

In one side of the drawer B, an inclined slot j, is made, and in this slot the upper end of a slide lc, is fitted. To this slide 7c, a

pawl Z, is attached, which pawl when raised engages with and actuates a ratchet E, which is placed on a shaft m, at the side of the box A, opposite to that where the bell g, is placed. The shaft m, has'an index n, on its outer end, said. index traversing over a dial plate 0, placed in the side of the box A, and inclosed by a door p, which may be locked, the key being kept by the same person who keeps the key of drawer D.

Vithin the box A, directly above the shaft b, a horizontal partition plate g, is placed, and r, is a Hap door which incloses the compartrnent formed by said partition plate. This flap door is also provided with a lock and key, the latter being kept by the person who keeps the keys of the drawer D, and door p.

In the partition plate g, a vertical tube s, is tted. The upper end of this tube is flush with they plate g, and its lower end projectsdown through a plate or board t, which is directly over a board t, that is abovethe drawer B.

F, is a vertical shaft which passes'through the top of the case A, through the partition plate g, and is stepped at its lowerend'in the plate or board t. To the lower end of shaft F, a sector or quadrant-shaped plate G, is attached, said plate being between the two boards t, t', as shown plainly in Figs. l, and 2. The plate Gr, has a hole 0;, made through it corresponding in diameter-to that of the tube s, and a corresponding hole '0, ismade in the board t', the hole lv, being `out of line with the tube s, as shown clearly in Fig. l, but the hole u, of plate Gr, by turningshaft F, may be made to register either with tube s, or the hole '0.

The operation is as follows :-When a passenger approaches the box A, to pay his fare the driver from his seat at the outer side of the vehicle throws forward the lever C, in the direction indicated by the arrow Fig. 3. This movement of the lever C, throws open the drawer B, in consequence of the sectors c, c, on shaft Z9, gearing into the yracks cl, d. The door h, of drawer B,

Y closes as the drawer opens and the passenger, observed vby the driver through` the glass deposits his fare in thedrawer, which is then allowed to close in consequenceof the driver relaxing hishold on the lever C, the springs a, a, closing the drawer. v As the drawer B is opened the bell g, is sounded in consequence of the arm f, acting on the curved end g of the coil. This Vserves as a signal to direct the attention of the passengers to the box and also to enable a'spy to count the number of fares that have been deposited inthe drawer. `Each time the drawer B, is thrown open the slide V7, is actuated by the inclined slot j, and the pawl Z, turns the ratchet E, one notch and the index n, one degree 0n the dial-0.- The index therefore points out on the' dial theV number of fares that have been paid. In case a plurality of passengers deposit their faces in the drawer B, simultaneously, it is demanded of the driver to throw out the drawer B, a corresponding number of times, so that the index n, and the amount of money vin drawer B, will always coincide. Hence the object of the bell which directs the attention of passengers to the payment of the fares and prevents a driver having an accomplice within the vehicle to adroit-ly abstract money, in case several passengers pay or deposit their fares simultaneously. Each time the drawer of movements of thedrawerf B, closes, the flap or door 77., drops and the route.` In case a passenger has not the precise change, he takes it from theV box A, as follows: The proprietor previous to the commencement ofV the running of the vehicle fills the tube s, with dimes, only one tube s, is represented, but in practice several will be used, `one for dimes, another for half dimes, etc. Suppose for instance, thefare is 5 cents, or a half dime, and the passenger depositsa 25 cent piece in the drawer B, 2O cents or twodimes change is required. This is obtained by the driverA turning the shaft F,'so that the hole u, in plate G, will register with the tube s, and receive a dime, the plate (jr, being just thick enough for such purpose; The'shaft F, is then turned so that the dime will be brought over the holee', in

the board t', and the dime will drop into the drawer B. This operation1 is repeated and the two dimes are taken by thepassenger the proceedings being watched by `the driver, who is compelled to do it in order that the aggregate fares may` be made to tally correctly with .the registered number This invention is quite simple and lmay be applied to omnibuses and stages "at" a vvery moderate cost. Its adoption `will fully protect the interest of the proprietors 1of public conveyances of the class mentioned. It is estimatedv that the average losses incurred by 1dishonest employees is about l0 per cent. of the receipts.

Having thus described my invention what I 4claim as new and desire tosecure by `Letters Patent', is,-` l, 1 7

l. The box A, provided with the drawers B,`D, the formerhaving a 'flapv or door h,

1in its bottomY and arranged to operate substantially vas and for the1 purpose set forth. 2. The change slide or plate Gr, one or more, used in connection with tubes s, and arranged relatively with drawer B, to operate substantially as and foi-the purpose set forth. y. i

In combination with the drawers B, D, and change plate or plates G, the bellg, and index n, and dial 0, arranged substantially as and for the purpose set forthl l TfVGIBBONS.

Vitnesses A. V. BONNELL,

J. BOBINE. 

